


a smile on your face, we'll count only our stars

by lucasashtons



Series: Song Lyric Soulmates [1]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: M/M, seriously blink and you might miss it, soulmate tattoos heyo, soulmate!AU, very little malum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-29
Updated: 2014-09-29
Packaged: 2018-02-19 05:42:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2376878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucasashtons/pseuds/lucasashtons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Working in a small bakery, Ashton had come to expect strange customers. He got the occasional flirtatious girl that made various attempts to get his or his friend Calum’s number, or a grumpy man who just wants them to hurry up with his order before he’s late for work. So really, this little girl shouldn’t come as a shock. He had just never been asked to explain the concept of soulmates before. </p><p>or where a little girl asks Ashton what a soulmate is and his explanation leads him to his</p>
            </blockquote>





	a smile on your face, we'll count only our stars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rocketshiptospace](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rocketshiptospace/gifts).



> This has been sitting in my drafts for ages. I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do with it but I’m pretty satisfied with how it turned out :)
> 
> So here, have a Lashton Soulmate!AU, because the world needs more of those. 
> 
> Title from ‘Singing with the King’ by Go Radio

”What’s a soulmate?”

Ashton turned at the sound of a little voice, meeting the eyes of a little girl, who looked about three or four years old. She was playing with one of her pigtails, the ends a little damp from possibly being in her mouth. She looked nervous, and was rocking back and forth on her heels. 

"Why do you ask?" 

the little girl smiled at him before removing the hair from her mouth and spoke. “My daddy talks about it a lot. He says I’ll find out when I’m older, but I want to know now. Can you tell me?

Working in a small bakery, Ashton had come to expect strange customers. He got the occasional flirtatious girl that made various attempts to get his or his friend Calum’s number, or a grumpy man who just wants them to hurry up with his order before he’s late for work. So really, this little girl shouldn’t come as a shock. He had just never been asked to explain the concept of soulmates before. 

"It’s a…." he’s not sure what to say. After all, he had yet to even meet his soulmate. He watched growing up as all of his friends met theirs and gushed about how amazing it was. Ashton tried to be happy for them all but it was impossible when he had yet to meet the one he was supposed to be with. He traced his hand over the tattooed words on his arm, his soul mate’s favorite song lyrics inked there for the rest of his life.

He wasn’t sure how it worked; all he knew was that when you turned ten years old, the lyrics appear. Obviously they change over the years, as new music comes out and a person’s taste changes. Ashton’s had only changed twice, going from some nursery rhyme to a song he didn’t recognize. The lyrics currently on his forearm had been there since he was sixteen, and he was now twenty.

_hello there, the angel from my nightmare_

He looks back up at the little girl, who is still patiently waiting for an answer. “It’s like a best friend, but they mean so much more than that. It’s the one person in the entire world that you would share everything with; your secrets, your favorite things. A soulmate is someone who notices all your little quirks, like if you bite your lip when concentrating or if you play with your hands when your nervous. It’s the only person in the entire world that loves you no matter what happens to you, and no matter what happens to them, you love them right back.”

The little girl smiled. “Have you found yours yet?”

Ashton gave her a half smile. “Sadly, no. Why don’t you go off and find your parents?” The little girl giggled before running off towards the front of the shop to where a man was sitting alone and Ashton turned back to his work. 

"Did you seriously just explain soulmates to a little girl?" Calum’s voice laughed from the oven, where he was pulling out a fresh batch of cinnamon rolls. The scent wafted out from the oven and hit Ashton’s nostrils, making him smile. 

"Maybe," he shrugged, going over to the fridge where the icing they made earlier was chilling. "It’s not like I told her everything. She can find that out from her own parents." He removed the plastic wrap from the bowl and pulled out a spreading knife before coating the cinnamon rolls. 

Calum grabbed the other knife and began to help, but couldn’t help but ask, “You’ll find them Ash, I promise.”

Ashton stopped spreading the icing. “I know, I’m just discouraged that it hasn’t happened already. You’re lucky, you’ve met your soulmate.” 

Calum shrugged.”I got lucky,” he said, and Ashton looked at his friend’s soulmate tattoo. _I don’t care what they say,_ _I’m in love with you._ scrawled in chicken scratch writing along his arm. Ashton had to admit, it was adorable to discover that his best friend’s soul mate had a love for Leona Lewis. It was when he met Calum’s soul mate that it was shocking that ‘Bleeding Love’ was his favorite. After all, the boy had  _green hair._

Calum placed one of the iced cinnamon rolls on a plate. “Girl up front just ordered one. Go take it to her.”

Ashton picked up the pastry walked over to the girl placing it in front of her. “Have a nice day.” he forced a smile, something he had been doing for quite a while. The girl thanked him and took the pastry before walking to a table towards one of the only windows the bakery had. Before Ashton could go back to the treats, the little girl was back with a man that looked about Ashton’s age.

"What can I help you with?" Ashton asked, looking between the man and the little girl. 

"My daddy here wanted to meet you," The little girl beamed. "I told him what you told me."

Oh great, he was going to get in trouble with a parent. It was a matter of time before this happened.  

"I promise it’s nothing bad," the man began, and whoa he had a deep, beautiful voice. "Those cinnamon rolls look amazing, can I get two of those?" The man started chewing on his lip, where a lip ring rested. It was this moment that Ashton actually took in who was standing in front of him, and  _whoa._

His blonde hair was sticking out of a worn out beanie, and his tall and lanky form was bundled up in a flannel and skinny jeans, which looked like they had seen better days. A small tattoo stuck out on his collarbone, and Ashton was pretty damn sure he was drooling now. _What a beautiful place for a soul mate tattoo…._

"Here ya go mate," Calum’s voice rang through Ashton’s head. "Two cinnamon rolls. Fresh from the oven I might add! Enjoy!" He placed the treats down, walking back to the kitchen. The man pulled out some money to pay for the treats before continuing what he was saying before. 

"Anyway, I liked what you said," he told Ashton, putting his wallet back in his pocket. "How they are like a best friend, you share everything with them. I mean, I have yet to find my soul mate, but that’s what I hope it’s like."

Ashton quirked an eyebrow. “You haven’t met yours yet?” he then paused. “Sorry, that was a personal question, I shouldn’t have asked.”

The man gave him a smile and his heart fluttered. “It’s okay, I get that a lot. I had Lilly in high school with a girl that didn’t want to be a mother. She eventually ran off with her actual soul mate, and it’s been just me and Lilly since.”

"Wow, I’m really sorry," he extended his hand out to give the man his change when suddenly the man’s eyes widened. "Are you alright? If you regret telling me that I promise I won’t tell anyone…." he suddenly had his work shirt pushed back, revealing his soul mate tattoo in full. The man stared at, and while Ashton did think the stranger was attractive, it was a little awkward. 

"The song on your arm," the man finally spoke, his fingers gliding lightly over the ink. Ashton felt the heat radiating off of his fingertips, the feeling of an electric spark running through him. "It’s ‘I Miss You’ by Blink 182."

"Yeah?"

"It’s just…" the man lets go of Ashton’s arm, making him almost pout. It felt cold without the stranger’s touch, and the electric spark was now gone. "That’s my favorite song, not to mention my favorite lyric."

Oh.

Ashton motioned towards the man’s collarbone. “Can I- Can I see yours?” The man nodded, reaching up to the neck of his shirt and pulled it back slightly, revealing the lyrics,  _A smile on your face, we’ll count only our stars._

"Go Radio,"Ashton whispered to himself. "That song, it’s ‘Singing with the King’ by Go Radio. That’s…." he looks up at the man’s ocean blue eyes. "That’s my favorite song. When I first heard it that was the one lyric I couldn’t get out of my head."

The man suddenly broke out into a smile, one that looked like all of the broken pieces in his life had suddenly been put back into place. He held out his hand. “I’m Luke.”

Despite still being in shock, Ashton managed to take Luke’s hand and shake it, already loving the feel of Luke’s touch. “Ashton.”

Luke let out a breath before turning to his daughter. “Let’s go eat our cinnamon rolls, okay sweetie?” he handed her one of the plates before she skipped back to their table, leaving Luke with Ashton. “Before I go join her, I need to ask when I can see you again.”

Ashton looked over the clock on the wall. “My shift ends in five minutes. I’ll meet you over at your table?” Luke nodded and blushed before leaning over the counter and pecking Ashton’s cheeks. He then walked off to join his daughter at their table, leaving Ashton with the feeling of love and warmth in his heart. 

He now knew what all of his friends had been raving about back in high school with their soul mates. The person that out of everyone in the entire world, loved every little thing about Ashton, had finally come into his life. Ashton swore that every single day that passed, he fell more and more in love with Luke and everything about him. He even grew to love Lilly as if she were his own child, which, eventually, she ended up becoming. 

Ashton had never been so glad that the one time a little kid actually spoke to him at work, it led him to his one true love. 


End file.
